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Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

INDYCAR: Inside IndyCar’s New Speed, Safety And Technology Initiative
INDYCAR's Derrick Walker takes Marshall Pruett through where the series is headed with its new effort to increase speeds, safety and technology.

Arie Luyendyk's all-time Indy 500 qualifying record average of 236.9868 mph from 1996 is now officially the new target of the IZOD IndyCar Series, along with a return to a more creative time for open-wheel racing.

Formally announced on Thursday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the plan hatched by Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles will see the series open its restrictive, spec-minded rulebook to allow certain areas of technical freedom with an eye to restoring public interest for open-wheel racing.

Working in concert with soon-to-be INDYCAR president of competition Derrick Walker, Miles' plan is exactly what he shared with me earlier this year--one where an increase in speed would be achieved by every key performance provider bearing an equal share of the load.

Walker is close to announcing aero kit regulations, and along with those anticipated aero gains, the series hopes to find a few miles per hour with new bodywork, a few mph with an increase in engine power from Chevy and Honda, a few mph in tires from Firestone, and even Sunoco, suppliers of the watery E85 ethanol used by the Indy cars, has said it can deliver more potent fuel to drive power figures even higher.

I spoke with Walker at length on Friday and found the series’ new willingness to open its rulebook—even if baby steps are involved over the next few years—to be rather refreshing.

“The announcement was really to send a message we're going to change some things more than here’s 10 things we’ve decided upon and the dates by which they’ll be implemented,” he told SPEED.com. “That part will come, but we’re just trying to get the message out right now that we’re going ‘back to the future,’ as I’ve said a few times.

“It's going to take a while, and we think there's an element we need to go back to--not quite that far back--but within the confines of what we can control. One thing we don’t want to do is turn this into a wild frontier. The changes we're talking about is in the name of speed—and at the tracks where we can demonstrate a sizeable increase over time.”

The emphasis on breaking Luyendyk’s Indy record and setting new records at other ovals will serve as the backbone for IndyCar’s new initiative, but thankfully, Walker clarified the new technologies and speed components will be used across the entire IndyCar calendar.

“If you look at the ovals, clearly we can go for speed records there the easiest,” continued Walker. “It's measured by financials—what it will cost, safety improvements needed to make sure the extra speed can be achieved safely, and it also can't be forced. We can’t do this overnight and say that we’ve done it in a purposeful manner. We want it to happen gradually over time, and we know the low hanging fruit are the speedways.

“On the road and street courses, there are some places you can't do that, really; we're already going faster than ever at many of those tracks, but there could be some places where we can increase speeds and have it be seen and received by our fans. That’s what’s most important.”

Along with the formation of a new committee to come up with the means and methods to create additional speed, the series has also created a second committee to advance the present safety measures found trackside and with Indy cars as well.

“That’s a dual process we’re committed to,” said Walker. "You can’t have one without the other, and in many ways, while we know how to make the cars faster—it’s just a case of deciding which ones make the most sense to every party—there’s a possibility here to apply a fresh outlook on many safety areas that maybe have not had a group of individuals from many different areas in the sport sit down and address what can be done better. That’s an exciting development, I believe.”

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Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

Heightened security tomorrow at IMS (It probably went without saying)... And also runners from Boston Marathon that weren't able to complete the run due to the bombing will be running from T4 to the Yard of Bricks to give these runners a ceremonial chance to complete the Marathon distance with an iconic alternative finish line.

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Security at Sunday's Indianapolis 500 will be ramped up as race officials of one of the year's biggest one-day sporting events respond to last month's deadly Boston Marathon bombings.

Officials of the race, which routinely attracts crowds of about 300,000 to the sprawling 2.5 mile oval, said the added security steps include closing traffic on a major route into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and banning oversized coolers.

While the enhanced security will cause some headaches, the sight of runners who were unable to finish the Boston Marathon completing the distance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is sure to provide one of the inspirational moments of the day.

About 35 runners will run about one-half mile from Turn Four to one of the most famous finish lines in all of sports - the Yard of Bricks - about 10 minutes before the start of the race.

All of the participants in the ceremonial run were prevented from finishing the Boston Marathon as the race was halted when two pressure cooker bombs left at the finish line exploded in a crowd of thousands of spectators and athletes, killing three people and injuring 264 others.

"The tragedy last month in Boston still resonates with everyone, so we wanted to give runners the chance to finish the race in front of thousands of fans who will appreciate their persistence and determination," said Doug Boles, IMS chief operating officer.

"Everyone will remember the victims while also celebrating the strength and indomitable spirit of these special competitors as they cross the hallowed Yard of Bricks."

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Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

This one is staying on my DVR.

TK!

"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Want your own "Just Say No to Kamen" from @mkroeger pic? http://twitpic.com/a3hmca

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Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

Hell yes. Think they've got the right formula for some good racing? A lot of passing that didn't feel contrived and massive congratulations to TK. Well done and long overdue.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...nce-stephenson
"But, first, let us now praise famous moments, because something happened Tuesday night in Indianapolis that you can watch a lifetimeís worth of professional basketball and never see again. There was a brief, and very decisive, and altogether unprecedented, outburst of genuine officiating, and it was directed at the best player in the world, and that, my dear young person, simply is not done."

Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

Just got home from Indy.... Wow... Hope ABC gave this race the coverage it deserved. And TK finally gets a well-deserved Indy500 win. A lot of fans hung around a little extra to soak in TK's win.

IMO they did a pretty good job. It would be better if they threw Eddie or Scott in a limb shredder, but still above average.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...nce-stephenson
"But, first, let us now praise famous moments, because something happened Tuesday night in Indianapolis that you can watch a lifetimeís worth of professional basketball and never see again. There was a brief, and very decisive, and altogether unprecedented, outburst of genuine officiating, and it was directed at the best player in the world, and that, my dear young person, simply is not done."

Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

I caught some chatter on the radio about some car or cars getting a 10,000.00 penalty for what I believe was a blend line infraction. I think the #16 was one.

Haven't heard yet.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...nce-stephenson
"But, first, let us now praise famous moments, because something happened Tuesday night in Indianapolis that you can watch a lifetimeís worth of professional basketball and never see again. There was a brief, and very decisive, and altogether unprecedented, outburst of genuine officiating, and it was directed at the best player in the world, and that, my dear young person, simply is not done."

Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Want your own "Just Say No to Kamen" from @mkroeger pic? http://twitpic.com/a3hmca

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Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

Good race, but man the security was a pain in the ***. I was in line for an hour and a half or so, no problem with me, but some of my compatriots in the crowd were getting unruly. I'm told when they dropped the green flag they just started letting people in. I understand the need to check people but they need more checkpoints to process everyone.

Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...nce-stephenson
"But, first, let us now praise famous moments, because something happened Tuesday night in Indianapolis that you can watch a lifetimeís worth of professional basketball and never see again. There was a brief, and very decisive, and altogether unprecedented, outburst of genuine officiating, and it was directed at the best player in the world, and that, my dear young person, simply is not done."

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Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

Race one to Conway. Never would have guessed that in a million years!

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...nce-stephenson
"But, first, let us now praise famous moments, because something happened Tuesday night in Indianapolis that you can watch a lifetimeís worth of professional basketball and never see again. There was a brief, and very decisive, and altogether unprecedented, outburst of genuine officiating, and it was directed at the best player in the world, and that, my dear young person, simply is not done."

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Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

I gotta admit I'm enjoying the doubleheader idea. I guess time will tell how it will play out in the stands and with TV audiences. It certainly creates some storylines as far as everyone getting a mulligan for their strategic or driving mistakes in race 1. ...And now that Conway has established himself as the rabbit it'll be interesting to see how everyone (including Conway/Coyne) play their hands today. And of course weather could always be an issue changing all of that in a heartbeat.

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

------

"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

Simone. Another surprise! Double headers used to be somewhat common during the USAC days. Always cool!

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...nce-stephenson
"But, first, let us now praise famous moments, because something happened Tuesday night in Indianapolis that you can watch a lifetimeís worth of professional basketball and never see again. There was a brief, and very decisive, and altogether unprecedented, outburst of genuine officiating, and it was directed at the best player in the world, and that, my dear young person, simply is not done."

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...nce-stephenson
"But, first, let us now praise famous moments, because something happened Tuesday night in Indianapolis that you can watch a lifetimeís worth of professional basketball and never see again. There was a brief, and very decisive, and altogether unprecedented, outburst of genuine officiating, and it was directed at the best player in the world, and that, my dear young person, simply is not done."

Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

Not sure about the 'sporting' fines.... Seems a little steep to me. I'm not even sure a little bird action that just happened to be caught on camera, not directed towards the camera, should even warrant a fine. If it does it should be a slap on the hand (100.00 fine and a wink for 'job well done getting us some personality on the track') instead of a 30,000.00 fine. Although is that really 30K out of pocket or is it "30k worth of fan/sponsor time"

Nuntius was right. I was wrong. Frank Vogel has retained his job.

------

"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thatís teamwork."

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Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

If that was a requirement, I'd still owe them money...

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...nce-stephenson
"But, first, let us now praise famous moments, because something happened Tuesday night in Indianapolis that you can watch a lifetimeís worth of professional basketball and never see again. There was a brief, and very decisive, and altogether unprecedented, outburst of genuine officiating, and it was directed at the best player in the world, and that, my dear young person, simply is not done."

The Following User Says Thank You to Bball For This Useful Post:

Re: 2013 Indycar Thread

This has been a BAD year so far. You always think they will come out alright and start to take it for granted. Then, you have a year like this just to remind you that it's still dangerous.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...nce-stephenson
"But, first, let us now praise famous moments, because something happened Tuesday night in Indianapolis that you can watch a lifetimeís worth of professional basketball and never see again. There was a brief, and very decisive, and altogether unprecedented, outburst of genuine officiating, and it was directed at the best player in the world, and that, my dear young person, simply is not done."